One Life: Lager, Mum And Me (BBC1): "THIS is mum, who's going into detox next week to get off drink because she's an alcoholic or whatever it's called," says schoolgirl Nanza, introducing us to her parent.

As you can tell from that quote, there were a lot of issues being worked out in this, the first of BBC1's new documentary strand.

Mother-of-six Diane was a career drinker whose appearance, at 39, was testimony that too much alcohol is bad for your outer self as well as your inner body.

She began drinking to block out the mental and physical torture in her relationships - and couldn't put the bottle down again. An eight-day drinking binge was not unusual for her.

Nanza, 12, lives with her grandmother as social services won't let Diane's children live with her. Only visits, and not overnight, are allowed. The youngster was given a video camera to record her thoughts and film her mother.

Film-maker Min Clough had a personal interest too. Her father was an alcoholic, she confessed. He relapsed throughout his life and drink remained a problem until he died.

Whether the public arena of a TV documentary is the correct place to work out your personal problems is open to debate. You couldn't help feeling that Diane's willingness to be filmed, both drunk and sober, was part of her treatment, especially when the camera followed her into the detox centre during her three week stay.

What gave this candid film its heart was Nanza, a child wise beyond her years who clearly loved her mother but realised that getting her to stop drinking wasn't going to be easy.

She acknowledged her mother was always letting her down - even when the cameras were there, as she went missing just before she was set to enter the detox clinic.

"I hope she's going to get better because I want her to have a normal life," said Nanza. What was really preying on her mind was a remark made by a teacher that "we all turn out like our mothers". You understood why this worried the child.

Going into detox, Diane assured us: "This is different, this time I want to do it". You wanted to believe her, but she seemed caught in a downward spiral from which there was little hope of rescue.

Nanza herself confided: "It's like she hates us. She loves the drink more". And later, "She's going to end up killing herself". Even Diane's own mother doubted she could overcome her demons. "I don't think it's going to be any different. I think she's gone too far," she suggested.

So far, Diane is proving her - and others of us who didn't think she could do it - wrong. She hasn't touched a drop of booze for five months. There may just be a happy ending to this story after all.

Published: 25/09/2003